December 08, 2012

What's Best?

Marilyn Thiele

This morning, first cup of delightfully aromatic coffee at
my side, I opened my e-mail. First up was a message from the Sony Reader Store:
“Top 10 Electronic Books of 2012!” I haven’t kept a count over the last few
weeks, but this must be at least the 100th list of “top books” I
have been exposed to in newspapers, magazines, and on-line. Don’t get me wrong,
I love lists; I have expounded on that personality quirk of mine in this forum
in the past. This year seems to have a
superabundance of “Best” lists, and even I am starting to feel that there are
too many lists. It may be that there were just as many in past years, but my
own on-line behavior, joining Facebook, “liking” pages related to books and
bookselling, and linking from one place to another in those fugue states (I
call it “lost in cyberspace”) that cause us all to wonder where the last two
hours went, has caused me to be more aware of them this year. Whatever the
reason, I am feeling a bit “list-exhausted.”

Some of these lists, of course, are pure marketing efforts,
as is the one I encountered this morning; there is nothing there that hasn’t
been on best seller lists for weeks or months and hasn’t appeared on 99 of the
other 100 lists. It’s just an effort to sell more copies to those who lived in
caves until December 1 and were unaware of these titles.

It’s the other lists, those by the editors of respected
publications, by bookstore staff, by well-known reviewers, and by well-read
individuals, that cause more angst. I am
reminded of all the outstanding work I have not yet read, and my own “to-read”
list grows. I see books I was unaware of, and wonder how I missed them. I rethink my book ordering plans, knowing that
many of these books will shortly be reissued in paperback editions. And I
wonder if 2013 is the year I will make good on my threat to lock the doors of
my shop and just read until I am sated.

Seeing books by authors I know personally and whose work I
admire on these lists, especially “national-level” compilations, is a true joy.
I love writing “congrats” e-mails! Finding books I enjoyed and have recommended
to others on the lists is also a pleasure; we all love to have our good taste
confirmed. It’s when I see a book listed
and wonder how in heaven’s name THAT was considered “best” that I remember that
all of these lists are assembled by one or more humans, and everyone has
different tastes. As I often tell customers who are apologetic about not liking
crime fiction, or a certain author, or something else they think they should
like: It would be a very dull world if we all like the same things.

And so I begin to cull the enormous number of lists to make
my own reading and ordering more manageable. I remember that those compiled by
bookstore staff will often have books by regional authors in their area among
the top picks. It’s not a bias per se, but the simple fact that their customers
have more interest in those authors; every region produces excellent crime
fiction, and it often gets national attention. But readers like familiar
territory. Janet Evanovich and Harlan Coben have both been wildly successful
nationally and internationally, yet I have met customers visiting from other
parts of the United States who have never heard of them. New Jersey readers lap
up every word; they are familiar with Stephanie Plum’s Trenton and Harlan Coben’s
New Jersey suburbs. I would guess that Dennis Lehane, whose books sell well in
my store, sells even better in Boston. I sell a lot of books by lesser known
writers with the magic words “New Jersey author.”

I realize also that there are many “notable” books selected
by the best known book review that hold no interest for me or most of my
customers; I wish I could read everything, but I can’t, so I can eliminate
several more. I remember that some reviewers seem always to favor books that
are to my taste, while others tout many works I find “iffy.” I don’t have to
read or stock everything that every reviewer puts on their “best” list. And
finally, I think about one of my best sources of information: the readers who
tell me every day about the books they love and why.

Lynne Patrick touched on the subject of these “best” lists
in her post earlier this week. She asked if seeing a book on one of the lists
would motivate someone to read it, or discourage interest. For me, seeing a
book I am unfamiliar with or have not paid much attention to on a list I
consider credible motivates me to investigate a little more. I will read
reviews of it and try to learn why it was considered a top pick, keeping in
mind that list compilers and reviewers may or may not like what I or my
customers like. Thus being on a “best
list” brings it to my, and others’, attention, giving it at least another
chance with someone who may have overlooked it earlier in the year.

The year is drawing to a close, and the Best Books of 2012
lists will be archived as we move on to the new offerings of a new year. There
will be respite until at least late January; then it’s time for Edgar nominees,
the beginning of the awards nominees lists. For those of us with listmania,
there’s always something.

Comments

What's Best?

Marilyn Thiele

This morning, first cup of delightfully aromatic coffee at
my side, I opened my e-mail. First up was a message from the Sony Reader Store:
“Top 10 Electronic Books of 2012!” I haven’t kept a count over the last few
weeks, but this must be at least the 100th list of “top books” I
have been exposed to in newspapers, magazines, and on-line. Don’t get me wrong,
I love lists; I have expounded on that personality quirk of mine in this forum
in the past. This year seems to have a
superabundance of “Best” lists, and even I am starting to feel that there are
too many lists. It may be that there were just as many in past years, but my
own on-line behavior, joining Facebook, “liking” pages related to books and
bookselling, and linking from one place to another in those fugue states (I
call it “lost in cyberspace”) that cause us all to wonder where the last two
hours went, has caused me to be more aware of them this year. Whatever the
reason, I am feeling a bit “list-exhausted.”

Some of these lists, of course, are pure marketing efforts,
as is the one I encountered this morning; there is nothing there that hasn’t
been on best seller lists for weeks or months and hasn’t appeared on 99 of the
other 100 lists. It’s just an effort to sell more copies to those who lived in
caves until December 1 and were unaware of these titles.

It’s the other lists, those by the editors of respected
publications, by bookstore staff, by well-known reviewers, and by well-read
individuals, that cause more angst. I am
reminded of all the outstanding work I have not yet read, and my own “to-read”
list grows. I see books I was unaware of, and wonder how I missed them. I rethink my book ordering plans, knowing that
many of these books will shortly be reissued in paperback editions. And I
wonder if 2013 is the year I will make good on my threat to lock the doors of
my shop and just read until I am sated.

Seeing books by authors I know personally and whose work I
admire on these lists, especially “national-level” compilations, is a true joy.
I love writing “congrats” e-mails! Finding books I enjoyed and have recommended
to others on the lists is also a pleasure; we all love to have our good taste
confirmed. It’s when I see a book listed
and wonder how in heaven’s name THAT was considered “best” that I remember that
all of these lists are assembled by one or more humans, and everyone has
different tastes. As I often tell customers who are apologetic about not liking
crime fiction, or a certain author, or something else they think they should
like: It would be a very dull world if we all like the same things.

And so I begin to cull the enormous number of lists to make
my own reading and ordering more manageable. I remember that those compiled by
bookstore staff will often have books by regional authors in their area among
the top picks. It’s not a bias per se, but the simple fact that their customers
have more interest in those authors; every region produces excellent crime
fiction, and it often gets national attention. But readers like familiar
territory. Janet Evanovich and Harlan Coben have both been wildly successful
nationally and internationally, yet I have met customers visiting from other
parts of the United States who have never heard of them. New Jersey readers lap
up every word; they are familiar with Stephanie Plum’s Trenton and Harlan Coben’s
New Jersey suburbs. I would guess that Dennis Lehane, whose books sell well in
my store, sells even better in Boston. I sell a lot of books by lesser known
writers with the magic words “New Jersey author.”

I realize also that there are many “notable” books selected
by the best known book review that hold no interest for me or most of my
customers; I wish I could read everything, but I can’t, so I can eliminate
several more. I remember that some reviewers seem always to favor books that
are to my taste, while others tout many works I find “iffy.” I don’t have to
read or stock everything that every reviewer puts on their “best” list. And
finally, I think about one of my best sources of information: the readers who
tell me every day about the books they love and why.

Lynne Patrick touched on the subject of these “best” lists
in her post earlier this week. She asked if seeing a book on one of the lists
would motivate someone to read it, or discourage interest. For me, seeing a
book I am unfamiliar with or have not paid much attention to on a list I
consider credible motivates me to investigate a little more. I will read
reviews of it and try to learn why it was considered a top pick, keeping in
mind that list compilers and reviewers may or may not like what I or my
customers like. Thus being on a “best
list” brings it to my, and others’, attention, giving it at least another
chance with someone who may have overlooked it earlier in the year.

The year is drawing to a close, and the Best Books of 2012
lists will be archived as we move on to the new offerings of a new year. There
will be respite until at least late January; then it’s time for Edgar nominees,
the beginning of the awards nominees lists. For those of us with listmania,
there’s always something.